


Playful

by Skaiaa



Category: Gamegrumps - Fandom, Septiplier- Fandom, Youtube RPF, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Best Friends, I love these nerds, M/M, they're like the best friend everyone wants tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9341210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skaiaa/pseuds/Skaiaa
Summary: When the boys go walking and it starts raining, will new love bloom, or will old love simmer to a stop?





	1. Singing in the rain

Soft pitter-pats of the rain fell free from the sky, which was weeping softly, gracefully crafting puddles in the streets, and wetting the earth, making it soft and healthy, squishy beneath the boot of children and adult alike.

To Jack, it was beautiful, so wet and wild, yet calm and serene, but to Mark, it was just an obstacle on his way home, one that ruined his shoes, dampened his hair, soaked his clothes, and made his dog muddy. Which may be why the latter was muttering under his breath as the sky began to cry whilst he had been taking a walk with his friend, Chica pulling at her leash with a vigor, begging to be free, so she could run and muddy herself up.

“ God dammit...”

Jack raised a curious brow, lifting his hands from his pockets to swipe his damp bangs back, blinking as little droplets fell and dotted his lashes, momentarily blinding him, but not for long, drizzling over his glasses. 

“ Somet’ing wrong?”

“ Just this weather.”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“ Ya wouldn’t last a day in the land of the Irish, Mark, if a little rain like this can make ya a bitter wee babby.”

“ Hey!- This “bitter wee babby,” just doesn’t like being cold and wet, thank you very much, Mr Mcloughlin,” Mark muttered bitterly, cursing loudly as he slipped and fell on his ass, splashing the water of the puddle up in his haste to get back up, the leash he had been holding now free from his lax grip, Chica running free, immediately diving into the puddles herself.

Jack couldn’t help but belt out a laugh, trying to muffle it with his hand at the glare the half Asian gave him. 

“Stop laughing and catch her before she gets into bigger trouble!”

Sean swallowed his laughter down and quickly went after the puppy, trying his best to avoid falling, such as Mark had, fumbling onto his knees a couple of times, hands messy, hair wind-blown and dripping as he finally got a hold of the doggy culprit, yanking her by her collar back over to Mark, trying his best to be gentle, yet firm, slip sliding here and there when she pulled too hard.

“ Did ya know the weather would be like t’ish?”

Mark had picked himself up and was rubbing his bruised posterior.

“ I didn’t think about it. I just knew that Chica needed her walk.”

“ Eh, figures.”

Jack managed to hold Chica still as Mark attached the leash back to her collar, the Irishman taking time to rub his hands on his jeans to rid them of the soft earth.

Despite everything, Jack was still smiling, which slightly unnerved Mark.

“ Why are you so smiley?”

“ I like t’e rain, Mark, it’s jus’ somet’ing I enjoy.”

“ But you’re soaked.”

“ And? T’at won’t stop me from enjoyin’ it.”

“ Weirdo.”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“ You look like a drowned American rat.”

“ And you look like a sopping Irish weasel.”

They both stared at each other before laughing.

“ C’mon, we need to get out of t’is weather before it gets really bad. T’e wind is changin’ and t’e clouds are close t’e burstin’.”

“ I’m not arguing with that. C’mon, help me get Chica home quickly so we can dry off and maybe give her a bath?”

“ Wouldn’t t’at defeat t’e purpose?”

“ Do you want a wet, muddy dog crawling on your sleeping space?”

“ Fair enough.”

Without another word, the men headed back to Mark’s house, shucking off their wet clothes and drying off, Jack laughing when Mark emerged with a bathing suit and a swim cap, holding Chica.

“ That’s attractive”

“ Shut up.”

Laughing, Jack left the room, picking up his wet clothes and hanging them over the radiator to dry while he waited for Mark to finish up.

However, it didn’t take long for a loud, almost high pitched scream to pierce the air.

“ CHICA, NO, CHICA, NO, NO, DON’T- N- CHICA!”

Unable to stop himself, Jack hurried downstairs just in time to get bowled over by the golden retriever, hitting the wall with a dull thud as the breath was knocked out of him. He grabbed a hold of her back half and was dragged slightly behind her, trying to get a grip on the wooden floors with his socked feet, failing miserably.

“ MARK, COME GET YER FOCKIN’ DOG!”

“ DON’T TALK ABOUT HER THAT WAY!”

“ YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!”

Jack continued to be unceremoniously dragged about the house, trying to lay on the pupper lightly, just hard enough to get her to stop. God, he really was tiny.

Chica dragged them onto the carpet and Jack finally got a hold of the dog, stopping her trailing, letting out an exasperated noise of relief. Fuckin’ finally.

Once he was free of the trailing, he glanced up, laughing at the face his American friend was making.

“ J-Jack, I’m so sorry- she got free while I was rinsing her off”

“ Eh, jus’ a lil water.”

Mark and Jack stared at each other and then Chica before bursting into fits of laughter.

“ She’s been very energetic today, ‘asn’t she?”

“ I think it’s because she finally has someone here besides her dad.”

“ Aww, well ain’t I special.”

“ Yes, very special indeed,” Mark said, making airquotes with his fingers and snickering when he got smacked on the arm for it.

“ Yer such an arse.”

“ You love me~”

“ Naaaah.”

“ Rudeeeeee.”

Jack chuckled, turning away and walking to get a mop to clean up the extra water.

“ Go dry yer daughter, ya doof.”

Mark rolled his eyes and picked up his sopping pupper, hurriedly bringing her back to the bathroom, peering over his shoulder before stopping in the doorway.

“ Hey, Jack?”

“Yea?”

“ I’m glad you’re here too.”

The Irishman blinked a couple of times before smiling warmly, face melting into a soft grin.

“ Same here.”


	2. GuestGrumps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Mark are guestgrumps this week, but will prying by Arin and his best buddies result in some unspoken thoughts coming to light, or no?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I added the GameGrumps to my fanfic
> 
> I regret nothing

The night went off without a hitch, the two making dinner and eating before going and playing some games, not recording, just chilling out.

“ So, what d’you have in mind, while I’m here, I mean?”

“ Just normal stuff, y’know, gaming, seeing LA, stuff like that.”

“ Seein’ LA? Are ye serious?”

Mark blinked, taken aback by the tone of voice.

“ Y-Yeah... Do you not want to?”

“ No, no- I want t’e. I was jis’ surprised is all. I mean, we got back from t’e airport and walked Chica and then came back here, so I kinda assumed that was all the time i’d get in t’e LA air.”

The Asian chuckled, ruffling the Irshman’s hair.

“ I’m not gonna keep you here and not show you the greatest points of LA, dude. That’s just wrong. Arin and the others also want to see you before ya leave again, too.”

“ I get t’e be a guestgrump? Duuuude!”

Mark chuckled, taking advantage of the happiness in the Irishman’s eyes to pass him in Mario Kart, snickering at the expression that followed his act of betrayal, howling in laughter as he was shoved off the couch by a tiny foot and lithe arms in return.

“ Yer such a dick an’ a half.”

“ C’mon, it was perfect.”

“ Shut up,” Jack replied, laughing and holding out his hand for the Asian male to take, hoisting him back up with a little bit of trouble. Mark was built like a brick shithouse.

The two went back to playing, Jack unbelievably happy, albeit a bit nervous.

\---

“ Hey! You two made it!”

“ I called you before we headed over,” Mark replied in laughter, shaking Arin’s hand, heading inside.

Jack was beyond elated as he shook everyone’s hand.

" Hi! Hi! Hi!"

Dan laughed, slapping him lightly on the shoulder.

" Wow, you really are an energetic bean boy, aren't cha?"

Sean blushed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

" Your content is amazin', an' yer jis' so funny, and i'm ramblin', oh fuck, i'm sorry-"

Jack frowned, biting his lip and sighing as the other's laughed, feeling awkward.

Normally, things like this wouldn't bother him, but he was hanging out with so many of his idols, and that just really threw him for a loop. True, the Grumps didn't have nearly as many subscribers as Mark and himself, but they had the charisma to make up for it tenfold, which intimidated, and made him excited to know them. Not to mention, he had only known Dan through some of the videos he was in, and being able to "sing" with him was nice, even if he got his ass kicked at the end of the video. At least he was part of the cool patrol, begrudgingly as that was.

" Why are you so nervous, dude? Did Ross bite you?"

" Goddammit, Ross, we talked about this," Arin joined in, chiding the smaller male.

Ross merely shrugged and licked his lips, to be in character, before walking off, whistling.

Mark shivered.

" Why was that so fucking creepy?"

" Ye tell me."

" Ross has that effect on people," Arin reasoned before leading the two newcomers to their recording studio, plopping down on his couch and patting beside him.

" It's a bit small, since usually only Suzy, Dan, and I record here, but i'm sure you can squeeze in there somewhere."

Dan grinned as Mark sat next to him, motioning Jack to sit next to Mark.

Arin scooted until he was squished into the side of the couch, deciding to sit on the arm of it until Dan tugged him into his lap, motioning Mark to do the same to Jack, to make room.

Mark did so with a little bit of hesitation and Jack squeaked, silently hoping the camera hadn't picked it up. Thank god the GameGrumps didn't use a webcam, otherwise this could've been a lot more awkward.

However, his relief didn't last very long as Arin asked everyone to introduce themselves and Suzy squealed about how cute they all looked like that.

" Oh- In case you are wondering why Suzy just screamed and squealed like a fangirl, Mark, Jack, Arin, and I, had to make room on the couch, so we're all snuggled up together in the loveseat."

" Not that it matters though," Arin concluded, loading a game for them all to play, handing out the controllers, snickering when Mark complained about not being able to see the screen because of the green cuddlebug on his lap.

" Awww, come on, Mark, he's comfy. Just give him lovin's and maybe he'll move~?"

Jack laughed sheepishly, scooting a bit to give Mark some room to see.

" Or ye could've jis' asked instead of freaking out like a little girl?"

" Oooooooooooh! You gonna take that, Markiplier?"

" Jacksepticeye has stepped up into the rinkkkkkk!"

The two friends laughed and rolled their eyes at the antics, focusing on the game.

\---

" Oh, you fuckbutt!"

" Motherfocker!"

" Yes, great job, Arin!"

" Yesssss!"

The crew was laughing, wriggling in their seats and focusing on the game.

Arin and Dan had spread back out across the couch, having mad a little bit of room, and sat separately, raising a brow at their guests, whom of which were stuck together like glue, and fighting for first place against the other two, seemingly having not noticed that Dan and Arin had made plenty of room on the couch earlier, only acting like there wasn't enough room. Interesting.

Ignoring it, the two went back to playing, grinning like maniacs as Mark and Jack got more and more frustrated, albeit Mark a "Tad" bit more. He was livid.

" GOD DAMMIT! GOD FUCKIN' DAMMIT! FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUCK!"

Jack was heaving in laughter and anger. Last time they played Double Dash.

" What's the matter, guys? I thought you were pros at this?"

" Well, separately, yeah!"

" Hey! Yer the one who's knockin' us awf t'e edge!"

" YOU'RE STEERING!"

" Wait, I am?"

" YES!"

" OH-"

Jack cried out in laughter as Mark rested his head on the other's shoulder.

" Jaaaaaaaaaack, you've been screwin' meeeeeeeeeeeeeee from victoryyyyyyyyyy," he whined in muffled defeat.

Sean was still laughing as Dan and Arin did their outro and loaded another game.

" Want to try again?"

" I think I need a drink," Jack replied sheepishly. " My throat is startin' t'e burn from a t'ish laughter."

" I could use a drink, too," Mark countered, raising his head, face hot and red.

" Two drinks coming up. Arin, c'mon, join me," Dan requested as he got up and left the room.  
\---

" Sooo... They're totally gay for each other, right? I'm not the only one seeing that?"

" Nope, they're pretty homo."

" Thank god, I thought I was homorationilizing everything."

"..."

Arin grabbed some waters from the fridge.

" Do they know?"

" Hell to the no. Otherwise they'red have been more sexual tension, y'know?"

" Well, Mark was growling quite a bit."

" True..."

The couple of men sighed and rolled their eyes.

" Should we... Try to get them together?"

" You've just taken the words right out of my mouth."

" So... Bring up the Pole Dancing Anniversary video?"

" Bring up the Pole Dancing Anniversary video."


	3. Pole Dancing Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings are beginning to bloom, but can the boys deal with them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it seems like i'm cranking out chapter after chapter, it's because I write them ahead of time, or I'm really inspired
> 
> In the case of this one, the top part of this fic has been hiding in my folders to be used, AND i'm also inspired

How had he gotten himself into this?

If there was one thing Sean had promised himself never to do, is go anywhere near a pole, let alone one for a stripper-

Yet, here the fuck he was.

And for a video no less.

Mark had dragged him into this, for his one year anniversary of the one year anniversary of the American learning how to pole dance. And he had agreed.

As if his scrawny Irish ass wasn’t spindly enough, why not put it on the internet? 

Oh, the things he’d do for the fanbase.

Which might explain why the normal man who bore a hoodie and jeans in most of his videos was now in some of the shortest shorts he own, decked with flamingos, and one of his typical graphic tees, whilst Mark was in his reptar tank and his own shortest pair of shorts, which were elastic, to allow him room to breathe.

“Okay, so you need to grab the pole, and lift your legs ever so slightly, kinda like you’re dancing, like, y’know, pole dancing.”

“No fockin’ shite, Mark.”

“Pff- Someone’s a sassy sue today.”

“ I just feel a little exposed, is all.”

“ You’ve shown off your chest and legs plenty of times before, it’s not like you’re shy.”

“ I might fockin’ be, you don’t know me.”

Mark chuckled, running a hand through his hair and readjusting the camera, focusing on Sean’s blushing face as he followed his instructions.

“ Are ye fockin’ serious- Stop showin’ off my face, ye bastard!”

“ But it’s so red, and silly looking!”

“So’s yer fockin’ hair!”

“ Oh, ow, harsh.”

“Bite me.”

Mark made a wounded face towards the camera, veining a puppy-dog pout, eyes sparkling sadly.

”Ah- Stop tryin’ ta bribe them wit’ yer fockin’ good looks, ye bastard.”

Mark merely grinned, raising his brows before going back to instructing Jack on what to do, finally helping him hold onto the pole, hoisting himself up a bit, seeming fine, although a bit annoyed, his own cheeks puffed up in irritation.

“ As we can see, the Irish leprechaun does not take kindly to people making him travel from his magical land.”

Jack burst into laughter at that, covering his face, muffling the sound with his fingertips, tears pooling in his baby blue’s as he fell to the ground, sliding down the pole quickly and landing with a dull thud, still laughing, managing to knock the camera out of place, and off the tripod, much to Mark’s chagrin.

“Oh fuck-”

The camera knocked Jack in the head, surprisingly enough.

“Ow! Fer the love af-!”

It was Mark’s turn to burst into laughter.

“ Blooper reel?”

Jack moved the camera away, rubbing his aching noggin.

“ T’is entire video is gonna be a blooper reel at t’is poin’.”

“ True enough.”

“ Eh, let’s try again.”

“ You warming up?”

“ A bit? I guess? I really just wanna do t’at spinney t’ing.”

“ Spinney ting?”

“ Don’t make fun of my accent, ye douche.”

He playfully acted upset, but he was still laughing and smiling, just like he expected. It was never meant to be hurtful, just playful.

The taller man smiled softly, rolling his eyes before getting a bit more serious, if that was possible with how silly they were both acting right now. For men who were almost thirty, they sure behaved like five year olds.

“ Okay, so you need to take your arms, secure them carefully, press down on your forearms, swing your legs up, and pray to god you don’t kick the lamp on your way up.”

Jack snorted in amusement.

“ Did ye even set t’is up befer ya called me down here?”

“ Kiiiinda?”

“... Ya set up a fockin’ pole in yer basement, and then called me over.”

“ Yup!”

“...If I die, the fans are goin’ ta murder ye in my name.”

“ If the video even airs.”

“...I’m goin’ ta fock you up if ye turn out ta be a freaky bastard.”

Mark blinked and bit his lip, laughing self-consciously.

“ I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise. Anywho-”

Mark situated himself on the pole and demonstrated what he had told Jack to do, carefully lifting his body into position, flexing his toes in his socks, and pointing them, calve muscles tightening around the metal, fingers holding the pole tightly before splaying his legs like a fan, and traveling upward carefully, clearly straining before swinging himself and sliding down the pole skillfully, landing on his butt.

“ Aaaand, that’s how you do it.”

“ Holy fock..”

The brunet grinned sheepishly, wiping down the pole with a towel and some antiperspirant gel. “ I told you, I’ve done this before.”

“ No kiddin’. Arin and Danny went on about it fer a while when I came ta visit. Showed me the videa and everyt’ing.”

“And?”

“That’s some tough shite.”

Markiplier laughed warmly.

“ Well, yeah, it’s not something everyone can do. Hell, even I can’t do some of the stuff.”

“ I saw.”

“ Rude.”

Jack laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck.

" I've also seen t'e videa of when ye first started t'ish, too. Is it really as hard as ye made it look?"

" Depends, can you lift your body up?"

" Well... Umm... Kinda? I mean, I was workin' out in Ireland, but I haven't done it in a little while, bein' busy wit' work an' all."

" Psh- We work at the same job, man."

" Oh, hush, It's not t'at easy t'e be inspired t'e work out. I'd much rather eat cookies while playin' games."

Mark chuckled, rolling his eyes.

" You heard it here first, folks. Jack is giving into his pudgy ways~"

" Hey! I'm not pudgy! I'm fuckin' tiny, fer god's sake! Not everyone can be built like a fuckin' god like the mighty Markiplier," Jack bit out, stepping away from the pole, checking the camera feed, face flushed in anger.

Mark's face fell.

" Wait- Jack, I'm sorry-"

" It's fine, jis.. Cut t'ish out of t'e videa, alright? We don't need our fans freakin' out over a silly little fight between friends, right? We're not Felix."

Mark laughed at that, bopping Jack on the head lightly in return.

" Yikes, and while the Swede isn't even here to defend himself either, how cutthroat."

Sean smiled.

\---

About an hour had passed and after stretching and warming up, Sean was back on the pole, hoisting himself up carefully, muscles straining as he held his body up, face flushing darkly as he tried to keep himself upright.

" holy fuck, oW, OW, OW!"

Mark laughed, clapping softly.

" You're doing good!"

" i'M FUCKIN' DYIN'!"

" C'mon, you lil leprechaun, you've got this!"

" FUCK OFF!"

Mark was howling in laughter by now.

" Do you need help?"

" I think i've broken m' fockin' arms."

" Alright, alright, just stay still."

" No, I'm magically gonna gather t'e strength to fock right off inta t'e sun."

Mark laughed again and walked over to the pole, carefully helping Jack down.

" You okay?"

" I have a new found respect fer people who pole dance."

Mark grinned.

" Y'know, I, uh, I pole dance. Rather avidly..."

" I don't respect ye anymore than before."

" Dammit! Respect your elders!"

" Make me, old man Markimoo!"

The two laughed, Sean rubbing his sore arms.

" Alright, alright, mr. Avid Pole Dancer. Come show t'e internet what yer made of."

" Fuck yes. This one is call the ' Jack can't do this, but I can, so suck on those nutz.'"

Mark immediately contorted his body as much as he could, climbing up the pole, swinging up, and holding himself there by his thighs, grinning smugly.

Jack merely rolled his eyes.

" Show off."

" You haven't seen anything yet," Mark cooed out in a deep voice.

Sean shivered, blinking profusely a couple of times, unaware that he was blushing. God damn, that voice.

Mark demonstrated a few more moves, fluctuating between hard ones, and easier ones, ending with something he swears is called the Extended Frodo, which showed off his thick thighs and toned ass in his shorts before spinning on back down skillfully.

Jack was a blushing mess, considering Mark had been talking to the viewers in his husky voice and telling them what moves he was doing during this time. He just hoped he wasn't on camera.

" And, that's about all we have for today, everybody. And as always, I will see you in the next episode, Buh BYe~!"

He then turned to Jack ad ushered him to do his own outro.

Wetting his throat, Jack spit out his outro hurriedly and pardoned himself from the room, still blushing.

Fucking hell, he couldn't be crushing on his idol and best friend, could he? How awkward...  
\---

Mark bit his lip and sighed.

Fuck, he really over did it with that last move, didn't he?

Jack probably thought he was the BIGGEST show-offy douche in the world.

He set off to stop the recording and edit the clip, not surprised Jack didn't return as he went through the clips. He was kind of a dick.

It seemed logical up until Mark got to the videos of Jack watching him, occasionally making eye contact with the camera, and showing off a face flushed with what seemed to be a full body blush. 

What the heck.

He watched for why he could be blushing and blinked when he heard his own voice before each shiver of the Irishman.

Oh..

Oh.

OH.

Mark quickly edited down the videos and cropped Jack from the last few clips, blushing darkly, only showing himself. Being that Jack still hadn't returned, Mark decided to go full out with his editing.

Just where was Jack?

Did he really mess up that bad?


	4. I won't say it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is an anxious bean who is having recurring feelings for his crush surface again after years of laying dormant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an writers block from heck... sorry for the short chapter

Another half hour of editing and Mark called it quits, dubbing the video sufficiently done up, making sure to have cropped the beginning banter to the end. He made sure to take out the parts where Jack wanted him to, and had gotten rid of some deadspace in the recording.

Jack still hadn’t returned, and Mark was worried, setting the video up to render and export to Youtube before leaving the room to track down his friend. He found the green-haired magician sitting on the couch, on his phone, seemingly caught up texting someone. 

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“ Jack?”

The Irishman looked up, blinking. 

“ Weren’t ye editin’?”

“ I was. I’m done now.”

“ Oh.”

“ Yeah..”

Jack sighed, curling in on himself and hurriedly texting his friend back when his phone dinged.

Mark was slightly intrigued by the conversation, blinking.

“ Jack?”

“ Hmmn?”

“ You alright?”

His fingers faltered over the keys and Jack’s throat tightened.

The phone signaled his friend triple texting him, but Jack left him alone.

“ Can I be honest?”

“ Of course.”

“ Yer a showoff..”

Mark winced at the biting remark and sighed, almost missing the next bit of dialogue huffed under the Irishman’s breath.

‘ But a damned good-lookin’ one.’

Mark lit up like a Christmas tree, blushing.

“ You think I’m good looking?”

“ Oh, shut up, Mr. Ego, everyone already knows yer good lookin’. My opinion isn’t any different.”

Mark smiled softly.

A loud buzzing noise interrupted them.

Jack cursed under his breath and answered his phone.

“ Wot?”

“ wHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME?!?!?!?!”

“ FELIX, FER FUCKS SAKE.”

“ You could’ve died in those five minutes you didn’t reply! I called because I care!”

“ ALL YE DO IS TEXT MEMES!”

“ And my meme lovin’ fuckosaur isn’t responding.”

“ It’s been five minutes, Felix.”

Mark was laughing by now at how flustered and how natural the Irishman fell into bantering with their Swedish friend.

“ Time is irrelevant in the name of love. Hey, speaking of love, how’d that thing with Mark and the pole go? You still losing your shit?”

“ It’s uh- Um- I’ll be back, Maerk.”

Jack blushed deeply, excusing himself to the guest room and running up the stairs quickly.

Once he was sure he was alone, Jack locked his door and sighed heavily.

“ He was right there, Fe... Literally right there.”

“ Wait, just now?”

“ Yes.”

“ Did he hear me? Should I scream?”

“ Hush-a yer mouth! No screamin’ Swedes, please.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jack let out a heavy sigh.

“ T’ae answer yer question, yes, I freaked the fuck out... It’s jis’- It’s so different up close an’ personal, an’ I got flustered, an’-”

“ And then jacked off and texted me.”

“ fELIX!”

“ Come on, bro, you’re an open book. Did you at least make it not so obvious you came before you talked to Mark again?”

“ ...Shut t’e fuck up! I didn’t- It’s not my house, it’d be wrong!”

“ Ah-hah, so you admit you’d definitely fuck your fist to him if you were in Ireland! I ship it so hard.”

Jack was boiling in anger, and embarrassment.

“ Felix, please, jis shut t’e fuck up. No, I didn’t jack it tae my own friend- I just...”

He sighed.

“ I had a panic attack.. I couldn’t even say my own outro befer fuckin’ it up royally. I felt so small compared to him. He’s so powerful, an’ strong, an’ jis so sure of himself, an’ i couldn’t understand how he did this so well... I idolized him... After so many years, he’s still my idol...”

Felix listened in silence.

“ Ah- Jeez- Shit, Jack, I didn’t mean to be such a dick... So that’s why you started texting me so suddenly? You were having an attack?”

“ It’s easier to talk to someone over text than in real life when I’m freakin’ out.. Heh, see, you didn’t even know I was in tears, did cha?”

“ Tears? Shit, no, I didn’t-”

“ See, perfect coverage.”

“ You have to tell him eventually.”

“ I’d much rather it fester an’ slowly simmer tae a stop.”

“ You’re just going to slowly torture yourself to death like this.”

“ Better that than him knowin’.”

There was a knock on the door.

“ Hey, Sean, I’m gonna order Pizza. You want any specifics?”

Jack smiled softly.

“ I’m gonna have tae say bye now, Fe. Mark is orderin’ pizza.”

“ Drat! Bested by the pizza, again!”

Jack giggled, rolling his eyes.

“ Shut up, you’d pick Pizza over me.”

“ I’d pick a rock over you.”

“ Rude!”

Jack hung up and went to open the door, unlocking it carefully while pocketing his phone.

“ Sorry, Felix was bein’ an assbag.”

“ That’s Pewds for you.”

“ Heh, yeah. Anyway, ye mentioned pizza?”

“ Yup, c’mon, let’s order.”


	5. Confessions

The pizza was ordered and both the men sat and waited.

Without the rambling of the Swede, it was deathly silent, both men not sure what to talk about.

Mark didn’t mention that he had heard everything.

Jack didn’t mention that he had said anything.

Finally, Mark broke the silence.

“ Sean..”

Jack blinked at his given name being used.

“ Yes?”

“ I, um.. You know i’m here for you, right?”

“ Maerk, what do ya mean? Why are you bringing t’is up now?”

“ You’re distant..”

“ I’m like two feet away from you.”

“ You know what I mean.”

Sean sighed, sinking into the couch, willing it to swallow him whole. It did no such thing.

“ I’m just stewin’ o’er some thoughts. Lost in m’ own head.”

Mark sighed, knowing it wasn’t the full truth, unsure of how to pursue the subject that desperately needed to be discussed, the feeling of needed disclosure thick in the air, almost suffocating them both.

Mark couldn’t breathe.

Jack was fading in and out.

They needed air.

Or they’d both drown.

“ Jack.”

“ Maerk.”

“ You...”

Mark sighed, frustrated that he couldn’t get the words to leave his tongue.

“ Do you have... Feelings? For? Me?...”

The sentence was choppy, but dread filled Jack’s gut the longer he thought about it, the words seeming to get stuck in the air, not fully registering until almost a full minute had passed.

Sean laughed.. And then laughed a little more, before he curled in on himself, sniffling and scrubbing furiously at his baby-blues, the ice-cold color doused in salt irritation as thick, salty tears dripped down his normally rosy cheeks and pooled in his eyeducts, blinding him.

“ Ain’t it pathetic...?”

Mark was shocked, looking around for a towel, or tissues, getting up and hurrying back with a box of tissues, interrupted by a brisk knocking on the door.

The Pizza.

Looking at Jack, Mark carried on his task, until he was interrupted by more knocking.

He was starting to get annoyed.

He took two more steps before the knocking happened again.

Frustrated, the Asian male stomped over to the door, glaring at the pizza man, who happened to be a high schooler, taking the pizza and handing the kid the tissues, closing the door, seething.

It took him all of ten seconds to realize his mistake, and he quickly took the money he had set aside and opened the door again, taking back his tissues and giving the kid the money, smilingly apologetically as he tried to rekindle his former feelings toward the pizzaman, not the pissed off, moody man who handed them a box of tissues in a fit of rage.

“ Ah- Fuck, I’m sorry, dude. I just have a lot going on. Here’s your money.”

The kid blinked at the amount, surprised to find such a gargantuan tip, but accepting it gleefully, nodding to the man and heading on his way.

“ Yeah, I know the feel, man, don’t worry.”

“ Have a good night.”

“ You too.”

Mark shut the door, looking over at the couch, balancing the tissues and the box in his arms, finding Jack looking back at him, having seen the whole debacle.

It was safe to say Jack fell just a little more in love with this doofy man.

Uproarious laughter filled the room as the tear soaked face of the Irishman split into a grin, successfully lightening his dampened mood from the serious mess of sadness it had had just moments prior.

Mark let out a mental sigh of relief and thanked the gods he had managed to make the moody man calm down with his general brilliance when it came to humaning. 

“ So, uh, pizza’s here.”

“ I saw.”

“ We, um.. We still have some things we need to talk about Jack.”

“ Pizza first, questions and possible rejection later.”

Mark nodded quietly, setting the pizza down and turning on the television, sitting next to Jack, paying attention to whatever happened to be on tv, which was the cooking channel. Hell yeah, chopped.

They ate in silence.

\---

The serious mood had returned as Mark and Sean set their plates aside, sitting across from each other at the breakfast bar.

“ Y’know... It isn’t pathetic to think about anyone like that.”

“ When you idolize them, it kinda is, Maerk.”

” Guess we both idolize each other then.”

Jack choked on the coffee he had brewed in the mean time, beating on his chest.

“ What?!”

" You heard me."

" Since when 'ave you idolized me?"

" Since you told me to shut up in prophunt and just didn't generally take my bullshit like Bob and Wade do."

Jack's head was reeling.

" What?"

" Exactly what I said. You didn't just let me stomp all over you like a doormat, like I usually do, apparently."

Jack nodded in response and Mark let out a pathetic sound in apology.

" I'm competitive."

" Yer an ass."

" Ouch."

Jack laughed a little, blushing and shutting up as he thought the fact that Mark idolized him over. How precious. And stupid.

" So... What do we do now?"

" Depends, are you crushing, or not?"

" We discussed that on the couch, Fischbach."

" Oh..."

Mark thought it over, tapping his fingers over the breakfast bar carefully, blunt nails thrumming the marble granite counter. 

" Well, that's not a bad thing."

" You think?"

" Of course. Now I just feel like a dick for showing off," Mark replied, laughing.

" You are a dick, but not jis for showing off."

" What else am I a dick for?"

" Do ye really need me tae list t'e reasons?"

" NO, no, I get it," Mark chuckled, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

The silence fell again, as the two thought.

" So," Jack laughed mirthfully. " I'm guessin' ya don't feel t'e same?"

".. I don't know what I feel, Sean. I've... I haven't really thought about it, besides fleeting moments, and even then, it was brief.. Brief, but definitely there."

Jack smiled shyly.

" So, you might feel t'e same way, but yer not sure?"

Mark nodded, and Jack sighed.

" Well, t'is fucks with t'e plan for t'e rest of t'e week, doesn't it?"

" A bit," Mark replied, laughing.

" Dammit," Jack answered, laughing a bit as well.

The air felt lighter, and the two fell into their old bantering easily.

Huh, maybe confessing wouldn't be that bad in the long run?


End file.
